How often and When do you check your Twitter and Facebook?

If you had any doubt about the extent social platforms have taken over people’s lives, stats like these should help put them to rest. A recent study by Retrevo surveyed just over 1000 Americans and asked questions such as when, where, and how much time they spend on sites and services like Facebook and Twitter. These Stats are interesting and it worked pretty cool with me..!

Almost half of the respondents said they check in on the social media scene in bed, during the night, or as soon as they wake up in the morning., and no surprise here: users under the age of 25 tweet more at night than older users.

Half of social media users are so involved with Facebook and Twitter that they check the sites first thing in the morning — 16% say this is how they get their morning “news”.

iPhone owners use Facebook and Twitter more often and in more places: 28% of iPhone owners visit Twitter or Facebook before getting out of bed in the morning, compared with just 18% of all social media consumers under age 25 and 8% of those age 25+. Similarly, 26% of iPhone owners check in with Twitter or Facebook before turning on the TV, compared with 17% each of all social media consumers.

Featured Thoughts from the Comments Section:

Tom Dixon, A web developer and business owner explains his thoughts on this topic..!

As a business owner, it is important to allocate an amount of time to responding to social networks at least once a day for “Direct Messages” & “Urgent Updates”, but probably only 2 to 3 times a week for generally trolling though FaceBook (walls, Inbox, invites, birthdays, posts) / Twitter (mentions, topics of interest, other user interaction) / LinkedIn (inbox, connecting, networking groups). I used to try and respond to everything as it was happening but found that my average billable hours of work were slipping and I was not getting as much client work done.

I think that 15min a day for urgent stuff then, 2-3 hrs 2 – 3 times a week is all the time you should really be spending on all Social Networks combined for non-urgent usage. Generally the blocks of time you choose to use the networks should not be during work hours (unless you have a slow day) If you are serious about actually keeping your mind on your work at hand and completing jobs then well, try avoid the distraction.

I generally spend 1-2 – 2hr sessions on social networks during week after work hours & 1-2 – 2hr sessions on the weekends (depending on other plans I may have made).

You have to remember these services, great as they are, should not be allowed to interfere with a working day and control your life. They should be used as additional outlets to collaborate, share & possibly market your ideas, websites, business or products. (whatever it may be). Its all about not letting those reminders in your in-box distract you. Move them into a folder and check them out when you have made time to do so, not when they want you to.. hehe..

Twitter usage is more prevalent during the weekdays than during the weekends. This can be attributed to the fact that most folks whose full time work involves using a computer log on to twitter to check/post updates. This is a proven statistic although employers would hate to admit it. To really understand this , we need to realize that although tweeting is a fun activity, it does take some effort to post sensible content for which you don’t have to answer unnecessary questions or face any complication. In that sense, tweeting does consume your energy and that is probably the reason why people who like to relax in the weekends stay away from it.

Another observation is that humour bloggers who maintain a twitter handle , tend to tweet a lot. This is because even if most of their tweets don’t make sense they can get away with an excuse that people didn’t really get the joke ! Gosh I wish they tweeted less !

People who don’t log onto their accounts regularly tweet a lot during the short period of time when they are using their account to make up for their inactivity. Their usage pattern would contain multiple spikes rather than a smooth curve.

Twitter usage is also greater for people who focus on a specific type of content . This is one reason people tend to create multiple twitter accounts to target a specific audience. A tech blogger/tweeter would dilute his content by posting other information.

Hence his usage would be greater If he/she maintains twitter accounts dedicated for a purpose. On the other hand, a regular user might think twice or even reduce his tweeting when his followers contains people with whom all the information cannot be shared. Would you update on twitter about the movie you are watching if your boss is following your updates ?

Whats your take on this? When do you check your Tweets and Facebook updates? – Do add in your comments!

Orkut… yes i am using it since 2005-6 , but yes am new to Facebook and Twitter. However, i liked twitter more than facebook, if you remember Vj, once I get in touch with you through twitter requesting for some help.

As I am not very well versed with Twitter, i am reading a book on how to use it properly, written by SQL Server MVP Brent Ozar (http://www.brentozar.com/twitter/book/). I wish one day I will use it all functionality fully….LOL….

Ooops.. I am so sorry Sudeepta, I couldnt recollect that.! when was that? can you ping me again on Twitter?

Well, I was once a big fan of Orkut and had huge list of friends in it..! I just kinda lost interest after sometime. These days, i find Twitter and Facebook more clean..both in UI and behavior., and have been loving it.

Its really nice to see a fellow MVP writing a book for Twitter LOL..!
however, i am glad that.. you shared your comments here…and ofcourse, your twitter experience will get better day on day ..!

Orkut… yes i am using it since 2005-6 , but yes am new to Facebook and Twitter. However, i liked twitter more than facebook, if you remember Vj, once I get in touch with you through twitter requesting for some help.

As I am not very well versed with Twitter, i am reading a book on how to use it properly, written by SQL Server MVP Brent Ozar (http://www.brentozar.com/twitter/book/). I wish one day I will use it all functionality fully….LOL….

Ooops.. I am so sorry Sudeepta, I couldnt recollect that.! when was that? can you ping me again on Twitter?

Well, I was once a big fan of Orkut and had huge list of friends in it..! I just kinda lost interest after sometime. These days, i find Twitter and Facebook more clean..both in UI and behavior., and have been loving it.

Its really nice to see a fellow MVP writing a book for Twitter LOL..!
however, i am glad that.. you shared your comments here…and ofcourse, your twitter experience will get better day on day ..!